Anada Temple: Buddhist temple built in 1105 in the city of Bagan
Shwedagon Pagoda: A 98 m tall stupa (mound containing Buddhist relics) - it is the most memorable part of the skyline
Myanmar Gems Museum: Wide variety of gems, including the world's largest sapphire
Laos
Pha That Luang: A large, gold covered Buddhist stupa that is generally regarded as a national symbol
Wat Si Saket: Oldest temple still standing in Laos, and it also houses a museum
Patuxay: The equivalent to the "Arc de Triomphe" in Paris - an arc dedicated to those who fought in the struggle for independence from France. The difference in decoration from its parisian counterpart is notable.
Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum: A large memorial dedicated to the late leader and president Ho Chi Minh
Temple of Literature: The most prominent temple of literature is located in Hanoi - this temple also functions as Vietnam's first university.
One Pillar Pagoda: Historic Buddhist temple in Hanoi and is regarded as Vietnam's most iconic temple
Cambodia
Angkor Wat: Buddhist temple that is classed in the seven "wonders of the world"
Ta Prohm: Buddhist temple covered with atmospheric fig trees - served as the set for 'Tomb Raider' movies
Choeung Ek Memorial: A haunting memorial to those dead from the past genocide under Khmer Rouge rule in Cambodia
Thailand
Royal Grand Palace: The former residential palace of kings until the late 1800s
Wat Phra Kaeo: Buddhist temple with a 75 cm tall Buddha carved entirely out of emerald
Wat Phra Borommahathat Doi Suthep: A Buddhist temple with a stupa as a part of it
Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur International Airport: One of the major transportation hubs of Asia
Petronas Towers: The tallest building in the world located on the west coast
KL Tower: Arabic scripts, Islamic tiles, Islamic floral motifs and color combinations are part of the architecture, showing the country's Islamic heritage
Singapore
Escape Theme Park: Singapores biggest outdoor theme park
Sir Stamford Raffles Statue: Large statue of the founder of modern Singapore
The Fullerton Hotel: Not only is it a 6 star prestigious hotel, but it also houses 3 of the most important institutions of Singapore; the General Post Office, the Singapore Club, and the Chamber of Commerce.
Burmei
Royal Regalia Building: Collection of royal Bruneian artifacts
Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque: A tranquil mosque in the middle of Brunei-Muara, the nations busy capital
Billionth Barrel Monument: A monument of a barrel built to commemorate the billionth barrel of oil produced by the Seria oilfield - important in this country that has built its economy upon oil
East Timor
Presidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport: The only airport in service in East Timor named after a former president
Portuguese castle: An antique castle dating from 1627
State Museum of East Timor: Collection of traditional artwork, woodcarvings, instruments and crafts of East Timor
Philippines
Coconut Palace: A palace shaped like an octagon and made of several types of Philippine coconut shells and coconut lumber
Malacanang Palace: Official residence of the President of the Philippines - overlooking the Pasig River
Saint Anne's Shrine: A peaceful shrine to St. Anne where visitors can come to pray or to relax
Indonesia
Ambarawa Railway Museum: A museum detailing the history of the steam train
National Monument: 129m tower symbolizing the fight for Indonesia's independence from the Dutch
Istiqulai Mosque: The largest mosque in Southeast Asia (Muslim is the main religion of Indonesia)
Papua New Guinea
University of Papau New Guinea: First university established by the Australian administration
Enga Province Art Gallery: Showcases the tribal art of traditional Papua New Guinea
Enga Province Museum: Takes the visitor through the history of the island
Australia
Chadstone Shopping Centre: The largest shopping centre in Australia, located in Victoria
Parliament House: The meeting place of the Parliament of Australia, located in Canberra, the nation's capital
AMP Centre: Australia's tallest skyscraper, comprised of 45 floors (188m), located in Sydney
New Zealand
New Zealand National Maritime Museum: Acclaimed as one of the finest maritime museums in the world
The Buried Village: An ancient Maori village still preserved under a layer of volcanic debris
Te Papa: The national museum of New Zealand, tracing their history all the way back to the Maori
Economy
The economies of the countries in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific range greatly, yet this does not mean they are not connected with each other. The economies of Southeast Asia are connected via the ASEAN free trade agreement, which has helped strengthen the economy in these parts. The economies of Australia and New Zealand are almost identical in the manner in which they act and the problems they face, as they have similar factors affecting them, however Australia has slowed attempts to form closer economic ties with New Zealand in around 1980. Ironically, The economies of Southeast Asia and the South Pacific are not connected, as although Australia and New Zealand would like to trade with them, the Southeast Asian countries are reluctant to let them into their ASEAN free trade agreement.
Note: Brunei is not shown but it falls within the same GNI as Singapore since its GDP per capita is $53,100
Southeast Asia The countries of Southeast Asia vary greatly in wealth - with some very wealthy, whilst others are stricken with poverty. The ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) was an association that first established peace, and after that, began to encourage economic growth. All the countries of Southeast Asia are a member state except for Papua New Guinea, who did not choose to join. Although at first there was some conflict, in the later stages it was successful, with the collective GDP of ASEAN states being raised from $896.5 billion (2005) to $1.5 trillion (2008) - or $2,500 per capita.
Singapore and Brunei:
These countries are very wealthy and do not rely mainly on the primary, or secondary sectors of their economy as other nations in Southeast Asia do. However, their economies are not that similar.
GDP per capita Brunei: $53,100
Brunei is very well off, with one of the highest GDPs in the whole of Asia. Its economy is based mainly on its natural resources of crude oil and gas, and last year 90% of Brunei's exports were crude oil. Brunei is very much integrated in the global economy, and receives a lot of foreign investments that makes up a large portion of its total income. In the future the government plans to diversify the economic scope of Brunei to not rely so heavily on oil and gas. Although Brunei is not a command economy, the government is heavily involved in the running of the economy - greatly encouraging foreign investment.
GDP per capita Singapore: $51,500
Singapore is a prosperous trading center, with a great deal of economic freedom, and a true free market. The pharmaceutical industry and the Information Technology industry are dominant in Singapore. Like Brunei, it is very dependent on the global economy and relies heavily on pharmaceutical and computer based exports, and so plans to become more self sufficient in the future - especially after being so heavily affected by the global economic crisis. Singapore is one of the four Asian Tigers - so called because of its extremely rapid economic growth in the 1970s.
Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines:
These countries are still growing economically and are in the process of developing their economies. There was rapid growth in all four of these countries in the late 1990s with the development of ASEAN, but this came to a halt since the currencies of these nations had to be devalued due to inflation - caused by too much foreign borrowing, over-loaning from the banks, and too many houses on the property market.
The four economies are known as the "Tiger Cub Economies" - named because of their likelihood to follow the "Four Asian Tigers" (South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan), since they are developing their economies as the four Asian Tigers had done: they are also following an export driven economy and focusing a lot of money on education. Many countries invest in these countries due to their fast and efficient workforce, low operating costs, and less strict policies.
Farming and plantations are an integral part of the primary economy sector of these economically growing countries, and around a third of these nations economies are based around agriculture. Thailand, and the Philippines have frequent rainfall, so in addition to their other industries, base a part of their economy on cash crops such as padi - a wet rice crop. Despite the small amount of rainfall, Indonesia also does this through the usage of irrigation techniques. Rubber, palm oil, and fruit plantations are frequent in all four countries.
GDP per capita Malaysia: $15,200
GDP per capita Thailand: $8,400
GDP per capita Indonesia: $3,900
GDP per capita Philippines: $3,300
Main industries - very similar throughout: Exporting - petroleum and natural gas, apparel and footwear, agriculture, computer parts and electronics exports, tungsten and tin, rubber and palm oil. Tourism is also a profitable industry in all four countries.
Vietnam, Papua New Guinea, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia:
These countries are extremely impoverished, and have strict ruling bodies that try to over control their relative economies. Myanmar is under a military dictatorship, while Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam are still under Communist regimes - although the regimes in Vietnam and Laos are attempting to introduce more freedoms. All five are trying to develop their economies, however are held back by a number of constraints. For instance, there is not much foreign investment, as the business and economic climate of these countries is seen as being highly corrupt and inefficient. Although the government of Papua New Guinea is not as stringent, and is a democracy, the country faces many problems of its own: HIV/AIDS, lack of financial capital, lack of foreign investors, lack of trust in the state, etc. The Primary sector is the most profitable in all countries.
GDP per capita Vietnam: $2,800
GDP per capita Papua New Guinea: $2,200
GDP per capita Laos: $2,100
GDP per capita Cambodia: $2,000
GDP per capita Myanmar: $1,200
Main industries - very similar throughout: Mining, logging, palm oil processing and the extraction of oil. These, logging in particular, have an extremely detrimental effect on the Southeast Asian environment. Cambodia's industry layout is slightly different, and 80% of Cambodia's industry is based around clothing production.
South Pacific: Australia and New Zealand have very strong economies in this sector, which is a large comparison to the extremely weak and shaky economies of the islands of the Pacific.
Australia and New Zealand
Australia and New Zealand were not just colonized by the British, but they settled there too - many thousands migrating over - and they brought with them their economic system. Australia and New Zealand have slowly broken trading ties with England, and have begun to trade with Asia and countries in the Pacific Ocean. Both Australia and New Zealand have high GDPs despite their low population density, and there is a great deal of consumer confidence. Yet they also face some problems. There is a large physical distance between them and the markets they want to trade with, and in addition, it is difficult to trade internally as there is such a limited amount of people. Furthermore, the trading ties with Asia have just recently been established, and so are still being developed and strengthened. Another problem is that Australia imports more than it exports, a problem aggravated by the large amount of import restrictions in Japan, China, Korea, etc. Now, in the 21st century, Australia and New Zealand have moved away from the agriculture and manufacturing industry in the late 1990s and are basing their economies more and more on the tertiary sector of the economy - service industries. However, they are still primarily reliant upon their abundant natural resources - Australia on coal, and New Zealand on wool and dairy products.
GDP per capita Australia: $38,100
GDP per capita New Zealand: $28,000
Pacific Islands:
The island community had a thriving internal economy prior to colonization, with the many islands trading amongst themselves. However, after colonization the economies had become too dependent on the colonizers, and in many cases the economies collapsed completely after the colonizers left - relying on subsidies to stay alive. The Tuvalu islands rely on subsidies for nearly 100% of their income. The Pacific Islands were in near economic ruin by the end of the late 1990s. On the other hand, some have managed to rebuild their economies partially - usually based upon tourism, a prime example being Fiji.
GDP per capita Fiji: $3,100
GDP per capita Tuvalu: $1,600
Language
Southeast Asia and the South Pacific is a very multicultural region, and there are thousands of languages. Inevitably, some are widespread national languages, whilst many are relegated to only a few remaining speakers, and will soon become extinct.
The most major languages spoken (from most common to least common) are:
English
Vietnamese
Mandarin
Maylay
French
Thai
Indonesian
Filipino
Burmese
Khmer
Tamil
Samoan
Lao
Italian
Portuguese
Tetum
Hindi
Nicobarese
Greek
Malyalam
Punjabi
Telugu
Dutch
Indian languages
Many many others are spoken, but these are the major ones. English is the national language in Singapore, Brunei, the Philippines, the Christmas islands and the Cocos islands of Southeast Asia and 80% of Australia speaks only English when at home. Furthermore, every country in Southeast Asia lists English as a spoken language that is not national - with the exception of Myanmar, the most economically underdeveloped country with the least amount of economic freedom. The pattern seems to be that the more economically developed countries are adopting English as their national language - perhaps as a result, or in order to increase, globalization and the incorporation of their economies with the world economies, since, in this day and age, English is accepted as the 'universal language'.
Politics
The politics of Southeast Asia is very divided and diverse, and the region is not unified politically, on the other hand, Australia and New Zealand both share the same parliamentary democracy.
Constitutional Monarchies
Malaysia and Thailand are constitutional monarchies, meaning that they have monarchs, but the monarchs are bound by the terms of a constitution. The actual heads of the government are the elected prime ministers, and they are the most involved in the running of the country, along with elected members of parliament. In Malaysia people tend to vote for the BN coalition when voting for their next King - as they vote for who their constitutional monarch will be. However, the job of the prime minster is voted about in the House of Representatives, and the people do not get to vote for their prime minister. In Thailand the people do not get to vote, since the King is hereditary and the King and the House of Representatives get to vote on the Prime Minister.
Brunei has a system similar to a constitutional monarchy, but instead it is a constitutional sultanate. Sir Hassanal Bolkeha is the Sultan and the Prime Minister. He was not elected and inherited the position. However, the council that makes many legislative decisions - the legislative council - is elected regionally every five years.
Republics
The Philippines, East Timor, and Indonesia are republics, and thus they have elected presidents. In the Philippines they tend to vote for the Lakas Kampi-CMD party - a conservative Christian democratic party - however, the current female president is not a member of that party. In East Timor they tend to vote for the Democratic Party, which is a liberalist social-democratic political party, spearheaded mostly by the younger generation. The reason for this may be the growing number of youth in East Timor. However, the current president, who began serving in 2007, is of SNRT. In Indonesia the overwhelming majority vote for the Democratic Party also. Here the Democratic Party have based their principles on the political ideology of Pancasila (One god, United Indonesia, Democracy, etc.). The current president who won by a clear majority (Susilo Bambang) is a part of the Democratic Party.
Singapore is also a republic, but it is a parliamentary republic, meaning there is a parliament and an elected prime minister rather than an elected president. People in Singapore completely favor the People's Action Party, and the party dominates the political scene. This party is conservative democratic, however the problem is that many people feel this party prohibits many intrinsic civil rights, such as free speech. The current Prime Minister Hsein Loong, did not actually earn his title by an election, but got it because the three other candidates were disqualified by the presidential election committee. However, since he was of the party that has been leading the country since 1959, it is likely that he would have won even with an election.
Communist Regimes and a Military Dictatorship
Myanmar is under a military dictatorship, while Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam are still under Communist regimes, a byproduct of the influence of the Soviet Bloc. However, the governments of Cambodia and Vietnam are attempting to allow more freedom than allowed in the past - for instance, they are abolishing the most stringent economic restrictions. In these countries, they are not allowed to vote on who leads them and the leaders are decided by heredity. In Myanmar there are only the remnants of the judiciary system from when it was a colony of Britain, and corruption and bribery are commonplace during trials.
Parliamentary Democracies
Australia and New Zealand are parliamentary democracies. Australia tends not to lean towards one political party, although more prime ministers have been from the Australian Labor Party than any singular other. It is the country's oldest political party and it is centre-left wing. The current prime minister Kevin Rudd is also of the ALP. New Zealand greatly tends to vote for the New Zealand National Party, and, consequentially, it is the largest party in the House of Representatives and is center right wing conservative. Following the pattern, the current prime minister of New Zealand, John Key, is also of this party. Interestingly, Queen Elizabeth II is still, in name, the Queen of Australia and New Zealand, and in the everyday running of the government she is the head of state.
Democracies and Tribal Hierarchal Systems
The Pacific Islands consists of many separate nations. There are nine independent nations (Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Samoa), two nations that are parts of other nations (Hawaii and the US, and Easter Island and Chile), six independent nations with ties to their old colonial powers (Cook Islands and Niue with New Zealand; and the Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Palau and Northern Mariana Islands with the US), and seven nations partially administered by other nations. Most of the islands value democracy, and even before the notion was formally introduced to them they practiced it in a more primitive form. However, others go by a hierarchal system and the leaders are decided through hereditary.
Religion
As mentioned previously, this region - Southeast Asia and the South Pacific - is very multicultural, and therefore there is a wide range of religious beliefs present.
Islam is the most popular religion, and it is practiced by 31% of the population of this region. It is particularly dominant in the countries of Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, however only 1.7% of Australians and inhabitants of New Zealand are Muslim.
Buddhism is the second most popular religion and 24% of the population of this region are Buddhist. Buddhism is dominant in Burma, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. In comparison, only 2.2% of Australians and inhabitants of New Zealand are Buddhist.
19% of the population are Christian. Many of the Pacific Islands have been converted to Christianity, and it is the dominant religion in Australia (69% are Christian). Although it is a much less dominant religion, it is also practiced in Southeast Asia, although this is on a smaller scale and only around 10-5% are Christian. Yet it is dominant in some parts and East Timor, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines are dominated by Christianity in the form of Roman Catholicism.
7% believe in Animism, the belief that inanimate object have souls. This is not practiced in countries out of Southeast Asia for this region, but in Southeast Asia it is somewhat of a traditional religion. In the past there were more adherents, but as Southeast Asia became more modern, globalized, and as western powers invaded, other religions seeped in and replaced Animism. Animism lost much popularity, and now is a very minor religion practiced by a select groups from certain nations.
4% Taoism
2.5% Hinduism
0.5% Jewish
2% Various Tribal Beliefs: A small sector of people in their respective countries believe in these old beliefs, and those that have not converted to Christianity on the Pacific Islands are also followers.
6% other
4% of the population is Atheist or non religious, which is much smaller that of the world average of 16.7% atheists, and much smaller than the 18% of Europe. Of the 4% many are located in Australia, since 21% of Australians have said they have no religion.
Note: The real statistics may be slightly different to these numbers since governments often lie about the statistics regarding Animism and make it seem as though less people practice it than is actually the case.
Population
List of countries by population number (in millions) est. July 2009:
Indonesia: 240.3
Philippines: 98.0
Vietnam: 87.0
Thailand: 65.9
Myanmar: 48.1
Malaysia: 25.7
Australia: 21.3
Cambodia: 14.5
Laos: 6.8
Papua New Guinea: 6.1
Singapore: 4.7
New Zealand: 4.2
East Timor: 1.5
Burmei: 0.4
The Pacific islands have a very small population, and the islands near Australia and New Zealand have the highest populations (Fiji etc.). This group of islands have a combined population of 2.1 million (2005)
The combined population of Southeast Asia and the South Pacific: Around 630 million (July 2009)
World population: 6,710 million (July 2008)
% of World population living in this region: 9.4%
Note: will probably be a smaller percentage with more accurate figures, as world population has no doubt increased
Population Density: The above numbers, although an accurate estimate of the number of people in each part of the region, do not take into account factors such as the size of the country, which is where looking at population density becomes useful.
The above is a map depiction of the population density of this region. The darkest regions are indeed Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar (in that order). However, the next two regions of Malaysia and Australia are extremely comparable. The numerical difference between the two is four million, yet the nation of Malaysia is far more densely populated than Australia, in which much of the country has a population density of less than one person per square kilometer.
This map also shows that even within countries, the population is not evenly distributed. This is is most evidently demonstrated in the case of Indonesia. Certain islands in Indonesia have a density of over a hundred people per square kilometer (red), whilst other parts, such as the part near Papua New Guinea, have less than one person per square kilometer. The population of Australia is mainly located in the Southeastern coastline. After looking back at the physical geography of Southeast Asia, it is evident that this is due to physical geographical hinderances, and most of the less densely populated areas are inhabitable, as they are either mountains (e.g. the Java Peak in Indonesia) or deserts (e.g. the Australian desert).
Countries such as Indonesia have tried initiatives to address this issue, and in 1950 Indonesia started a transmigration program where they relocated groups of civilians. However, this did not work as planned and in the new locations there were often outbreaks of murder as the tribal groups that had been living their previously killed the new settlers.
Population Growth:
The population of Southeast Asia has more than doubled in the past 44 years - from 275 million in 1965 to 630 million today. However, population growth has decreased a lot since the early 21st century, and in the early 2000s, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam were growing by just 1%. Due to UN initiatives and internal government projects, the rate of population growth has continued to fall in Thailand since 1974. The population growth, or lack thereof, is also being affected by the introduction of HIV/AIDS into the region. AIDS is most rampant in the largest populated countries of Thailand and Myanmar; 0.8 million Thais are affected (0.4 dead), and 0.5 million from Myanmar are affected (0.2 dead).
Although, as a whole population growth has decreased and stabilized, some countries such as Laos and the Philippines still have a population growing at over 2%, with Laos being one of the few countries that still has over 4% fertility in Southeast Asia.
Population Pyramid 1990
Population Pyramid 2005
Analysis: It is evident that in 1990 Burma and Vietnam had a severe "youth bulge" and population boom from the triangular population pyramid of 1990
However, the population pyramids of 2005 shows that the rate of birth has decreased and a "boom" and a "bust" are visible in both pyramids
Analysis: Singapore started the 1990s having already controlled its population growth, with the "boom" generation in their late twenties
As can be seen in the population pyramid of 2005, Singapore has done a remarkable job maintaining the population decrease, and the "boom generation have gotten into their late 30s
Population Pyramid 1995
Population Pyramid 2005
Analysis:It can be seen that Laos has not succeeded in curbing its problem with a growing, and increasingly youthful populationJust as it was ten years ago, Laos has a "youth bulge" and the number of adolescents and children outstrips the number of mature adults by far
Australia's population by itself would result in negative population growth. However the constant influx of immigrants keeps the population growth at just over 1%. New Zealand's natural growth rate is higher than Australia's, yet the constant outflow of immigration lowers the population growth to match that of Australia's.
The islands of the Pacific have a constantly increasing population, and have not made any attempts to curb growth.
Analysis: The population pyramids of Australia show relatively stable population growth, and illustrates how Australia's youth population are not oustripping the number of adults in the elder generations. A boom is, nonetheless, visible - as in most developed countries
Population Ethnicity:
The population in Southeast Asia is not homogeneous at all, and there are a lot of mixtures of different races, not just from within Southeast Asia, but also from other parts of Asia - especially China. There are further overlays of Arab, Polynesian, Melanesian and Indian genes.
The largest ethnic group is Javanese, with 86 million people. Other ethnic groups are:
Bangkok: not only the capital and political, economic and social center of Thailand, but also of the whole world - evidently it is a commercial city.
Singapore: is in fact a city-state, so is classed as a city in addition to being a nation. After gaining independence from Britain, both its wealth and its standard of living rose dramatically. Singapore is a commercial city as there are many trading and exporting ports located within it.
Jakarta: Jakarta is the capital of Indonesia and is the city with the largest population in the whole of Southeast Asia. It is a colonial city, created by the Dutch, and an important trading point.
Hanoi: Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam, and is a colonial city, created when the French colonized
Sydney: Sydney, though not the capital of Australia, is probably the most major city in Australia, being ranked one of the most livable cities in the world - though one with one of the highest living costs. It is the most multicultural city in the world, and is most definitely a commercial city - even being classed an "alpha+global" meaning it has passed several criteria, and is classed as an important part of the world's economy.
Artifacts
Myanmar
Laos
Vietnam
Cambodia
Thailand
Malaysia
Singapore
Burmei
East Timor
Philippines
Indonesia
Papua New Guinea
Australia
New Zealand
Economy
The economies of the countries in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific range greatly, yet this does not mean they are not connected with each other. The economies of Southeast Asia are connected via the ASEAN free trade agreement, which has helped strengthen the economy in these parts. The economies of Australia and New Zealand are almost identical in the manner in which they act and the problems they face, as they have similar factors affecting them, however Australia has slowed attempts to form closer economic ties with New Zealand in around 1980. Ironically, The economies of Southeast Asia and the South Pacific are not connected, as although Australia and New Zealand would like to trade with them, the Southeast Asian countries are reluctant to let them into their ASEAN free trade agreement.
Southeast Asia
The countries of Southeast Asia vary greatly in wealth - with some very wealthy, whilst others are stricken with poverty. The ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) was an association that first established peace, and after that, began to encourage economic growth. All the countries of Southeast Asia are a member state except for Papua New Guinea, who did not choose to join. Although at first there was some conflict, in the later stages it was successful, with the collective GDP of ASEAN states being raised from $896.5 billion (2005) to $1.5 trillion (2008) - or $2,500 per capita.
Singapore and Brunei:
These countries are very wealthy and do not rely mainly on the primary, or secondary sectors of their economy as other nations in Southeast Asia do. However, their economies are not that similar.
GDP per capita Brunei: $53,100
Brunei is very well off, with one of the highest GDPs in the whole of Asia. Its economy is based mainly on its natural resources of crude oil and gas, and last year 90% of Brunei's exports were crude oil. Brunei is very much integrated in the global economy, and receives a lot of foreign investments that makes up a large portion of its total income. In the future the government plans to diversify the economic scope of Brunei to not rely so heavily on oil and gas. Although Brunei is not a command economy, the government is heavily involved in the running of the economy - greatly encouraging foreign investment.
GDP per capita Singapore: $51,500
Singapore is a prosperous trading center, with a great deal of economic freedom, and a true free market. The pharmaceutical industry and the Information Technology industry are dominant in Singapore. Like Brunei, it is very dependent on the global economy and relies heavily on pharmaceutical and computer based exports, and so plans to become more self sufficient in the future - especially after being so heavily affected by the global economic crisis. Singapore is one of the four Asian Tigers - so called because of its extremely rapid economic growth in the 1970s.
Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines:
These countries are still growing economically and are in the process of developing their economies. There was rapid growth in all four of these countries in the late 1990s with the development of ASEAN, but this came to a halt since the currencies of these nations had to be devalued due to inflation - caused by too much foreign borrowing, over-loaning from the banks, and too many houses on the property market.
The four economies are known as the "Tiger Cub Economies" - named because of their likelihood to follow the "Four Asian Tigers" (South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan), since they are developing their economies as the four Asian Tigers had done: they are also following an export driven economy and focusing a lot of money on education. Many countries invest in these countries due to their fast and efficient workforce, low operating costs, and less strict policies.
Farming and plantations are an integral part of the primary economy sector of these economically growing countries, and around a third of these nations economies are based around agriculture. Thailand, and the Philippines have frequent rainfall, so in addition to their other industries, base a part of their economy on cash crops such as padi - a wet rice crop. Despite the small amount of rainfall, Indonesia also does this through the usage of irrigation techniques. Rubber, palm oil, and fruit plantations are frequent in all four countries.
GDP per capita Malaysia: $15,200
GDP per capita Thailand: $8,400
GDP per capita Indonesia: $3,900
GDP per capita Philippines: $3,300
Main industries - very similar throughout: Exporting - petroleum and natural gas, apparel and footwear, agriculture, computer parts and electronics exports, tungsten and tin, rubber and palm oil. Tourism is also a profitable industry in all four countries.
These countries are extremely impoverished, and have strict ruling bodies that try to over control their relative economies. Myanmar is under a military dictatorship, while Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam are still under Communist regimes - although the regimes in Vietnam and Laos are attempting to introduce more freedoms. All five are trying to develop their economies, however are held back by a number of constraints. For instance, there is not much foreign investment, as the business and economic climate of these countries is seen as being highly corrupt and inefficient. Although the government of Papua New Guinea is not as stringent, and is a democracy, the country faces many problems of its own: HIV/AIDS, lack of financial capital, lack of foreign investors, lack of trust in the state, etc. The Primary sector is the most profitable in all countries.
GDP per capita Vietnam: $2,800
GDP per capita Papua New Guinea: $2,200
GDP per capita Laos: $2,100
GDP per capita Cambodia: $2,000
GDP per capita Myanmar: $1,200
Main industries - very similar throughout: Mining, logging, palm oil processing and the extraction of oil. These, logging in particular, have an extremely detrimental effect on the Southeast Asian environment. Cambodia's industry layout is slightly different, and 80% of Cambodia's industry is based around clothing production.
South Pacific:
Australia and New Zealand have very strong economies in this sector, which is a large comparison to the extremely weak and shaky economies of the islands of the Pacific.
Australia and New Zealand
Australia and New Zealand were not just colonized by the British, but they settled there too - many thousands migrating over - and they brought with them their economic system. Australia and New Zealand have slowly broken trading ties with England, and have begun to trade with Asia and countries in the Pacific Ocean. Both Australia and New Zealand have high GDPs despite their low population density, and there is a great deal of consumer confidence. Yet they also face some problems. There is a large physical distance between them and the markets they want to trade with, and in addition, it is difficult to trade internally as there is such a limited amount of people. Furthermore, the trading ties with Asia have just recently been established, and so are still being developed and strengthened. Another problem is that Australia imports more than it exports, a problem aggravated by the large amount of import restrictions in Japan, China, Korea, etc. Now, in the 21st century, Australia and New Zealand have moved away from the agriculture and manufacturing industry in the late 1990s and are basing their economies more and more on the tertiary sector of the economy - service industries. However, they are still primarily reliant upon their abundant natural resources - Australia on coal, and New Zealand on wool and dairy products.
GDP per capita Australia: $38,100
GDP per capita New Zealand: $28,000
Pacific Islands:
The island community had a thriving internal economy prior to colonization, with the many islands trading amongst themselves. However, after colonization the economies had become too dependent on the colonizers, and in many cases the economies collapsed completely after the colonizers left - relying on subsidies to stay alive. The Tuvalu islands rely on subsidies for nearly 100% of their income. The Pacific Islands were in near economic ruin by the end of the late 1990s. On the other hand, some have managed to rebuild their economies partially - usually based upon tourism, a prime example being Fiji.
GDP per capita Fiji: $3,100
GDP per capita Tuvalu: $1,600
Language
Southeast Asia and the South Pacific is a very multicultural region, and there are thousands of languages. Inevitably, some are widespread national languages, whilst many are relegated to only a few remaining speakers, and will soon become extinct.
The most major languages spoken (from most common to least common) are:
Politics
The politics of Southeast Asia is very divided and diverse, and the region is not unified politically, on the other hand, Australia and New Zealand both share the same parliamentary democracy.
Constitutional Monarchies
Malaysia and Thailand are constitutional monarchies, meaning that they have monarchs, but the monarchs are bound by the terms of a constitution. The actual heads of the government are the elected prime ministers, and they are the most involved in the running of the country, along with elected members of parliament. In Malaysia people tend to vote for the BN coalition when voting for their next King - as they vote for who their constitutional monarch will be. However, the job of the prime minster is voted about in the House of Representatives, and the people do not get to vote for their prime minister. In Thailand the people do not get to vote, since the King is hereditary and the King and the House of Representatives get to vote on the Prime Minister.
Brunei has a system similar to a constitutional monarchy, but instead it is a constitutional sultanate. Sir Hassanal Bolkeha is the Sultan and the Prime Minister. He was not elected and inherited the position. However, the council that makes many legislative decisions - the legislative council - is elected regionally every five years.
The Philippines, East Timor, and Indonesia are republics, and thus they have elected presidents. In the Philippines they tend to vote for the Lakas Kampi-CMD party - a conservative Christian democratic party - however, the current female president is not a member of that party. In East Timor they tend to vote for the Democratic Party, which is a liberalist social-democratic political party, spearheaded mostly by the younger generation. The reason for this may be the growing number of youth in East Timor. However, the current president, who began serving in 2007, is of SNRT. In Indonesia the overwhelming majority vote for the Democratic Party also. Here the Democratic Party have based their principles on the political ideology of Pancasila (One god, United Indonesia, Democracy, etc.). The current president who won by a clear majority (Susilo Bambang) is a part of the Democratic Party.
Singapore is also a republic, but it is a parliamentary republic, meaning there is a parliament and an elected prime minister rather than an elected president. People in Singapore completely favor the People's Action Party, and the party dominates the political scene. This party is conservative democratic, however the problem is that many people feel this party prohibits many intrinsic civil rights, such as free speech. The current Prime Minister Hsein Loong, did not actually earn his title by an election, but got it because the three other candidates were disqualified by the presidential election committee. However, since he was of the party that has been leading the country since 1959, it is likely that he would have won even with an election.
Myanmar is under a military dictatorship, while Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam are still under Communist regimes, a byproduct of the influence of the Soviet Bloc. However, the governments of Cambodia and Vietnam are attempting to allow more freedom than allowed in the past - for instance, they are abolishing the most stringent economic restrictions. In these countries, they are not allowed to vote on who leads them and the leaders are decided by heredity. In Myanmar there are only the remnants of the judiciary system from when it was a colony of Britain, and corruption and bribery are commonplace during trials.
Australia and New Zealand are parliamentary democracies. Australia tends not to lean towards one political party, although more prime ministers have been from the Australian Labor Party than any singular other. It is the country's oldest political party and it is centre-left wing. The current prime minister Kevin Rudd is also of the ALP. New Zealand greatly tends to vote for the New Zealand National Party, and, consequentially, it is the largest party in the House of Representatives and is center right wing conservative. Following the pattern, the current prime minister of New Zealand, John Key, is also of this party. Interestingly, Queen Elizabeth II is still, in name, the Queen of Australia and New Zealand, and in the everyday running of the government she is the head of state.
Democracies and Tribal Hierarchal Systems
The Pacific Islands consists of many separate nations. There are nine independent nations (Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Samoa), two nations that are parts of other nations (Hawaii and the US, and Easter Island and Chile), six independent nations with ties to their old colonial powers (Cook Islands and Niue with New Zealand; and the Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Palau and Northern Mariana Islands with the US), and seven nations partially administered by other nations. Most of the islands value democracy, and even before the notion was formally introduced to them they practiced it in a more primitive form. However, others go by a hierarchal system and the leaders are decided through hereditary.
Religion
As mentioned previously, this region - Southeast Asia and the South Pacific - is very multicultural, and therefore there is a wide range of religious beliefs present.
Note: The real statistics may be slightly different to these numbers since governments often lie about the statistics regarding Animism and make it seem as though less people practice it than is actually the case.
Population
List of countries by population number (in millions) est. July 2009:
Indonesia: 240.3
Philippines: 98.0
Vietnam: 87.0
Thailand: 65.9
Myanmar: 48.1
Malaysia: 25.7
Australia: 21.3
Cambodia: 14.5
Laos: 6.8
Papua New Guinea: 6.1
Singapore: 4.7
New Zealand: 4.2
East Timor: 1.5
Burmei: 0.4
The Pacific islands have a very small population, and the islands near Australia and New Zealand have the highest populations (Fiji etc.). This group of islands have a combined population of 2.1 million (2005)
The combined population of Southeast Asia and the South Pacific: Around 630 million (July 2009)
World population: 6,710 million (July 2008)
% of World population living in this region: 9.4%
Note: will probably be a smaller percentage with more accurate figures, as world population has no doubt increased
Population Density: The above numbers, although an accurate estimate of the number of people in each part of the region, do not take into account factors such as the size of the country, which is where looking at population density becomes useful.
The above is a map depiction of the population density of this region. The darkest regions are indeed Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar (in that order). However, the next two regions of Malaysia and Australia are extremely comparable. The numerical difference between the two is four million, yet the nation of Malaysia is far more densely populated than Australia, in which much of the country has a population density of less than one person per square kilometer.
This map also shows that even within countries, the population is not evenly distributed. This is is most evidently demonstrated in the case of Indonesia. Certain islands in Indonesia have a density of over a hundred people per square kilometer (red), whilst other parts, such as the part near Papua New Guinea, have less than one person per square kilometer. The population of Australia is mainly located in the Southeastern coastline. After looking back at the physical geography of Southeast Asia, it is evident that this is due to physical geographical hinderances, and most of the less densely populated areas are inhabitable, as they are either mountains (e.g. the Java Peak in Indonesia) or deserts (e.g. the Australian desert).
Countries such as Indonesia have tried initiatives to address this issue, and in 1950 Indonesia started a transmigration program where they relocated groups of civilians. However, this did not work as planned and in the new locations there were often outbreaks of murder as the tribal groups that had been living their previously killed the new settlers.
Population Growth:
The population of Southeast Asia has more than doubled in the past 44 years - from 275 million in 1965 to 630 million today. However, population growth has decreased a lot since the early 21st century, and in the early 2000s, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam were growing by just 1%. Due to UN initiatives and internal government projects, the rate of population growth has continued to fall in Thailand since 1974. The population growth, or lack thereof, is also being affected by the introduction of HIV/AIDS into the region. AIDS is most rampant in the largest populated countries of Thailand and Myanmar; 0.8 million Thais are affected (0.4 dead), and 0.5 million from Myanmar are affected (0.2 dead).
Although, as a whole population growth has decreased and stabilized, some countries such as Laos and the Philippines still have a population growing at over 2%, with Laos being one of the few countries that still has over 4% fertility in Southeast Asia.
However, the population pyramids of 2005 shows that the rate of birth has decreased and a "boom" and a "bust" are visible in both pyramids
As can be seen in the population pyramid of 2005, Singapore has done a remarkable job maintaining the population decrease, and the "boom generation have gotten into their late 30s
Australia's population by itself would result in negative population growth. However the constant influx of immigrants keeps the population growth at just over 1%. New Zealand's natural growth rate is higher than Australia's, yet the constant outflow of immigration lowers the population growth to match that of Australia's.
The islands of the Pacific have a constantly increasing population, and have not made any attempts to curb growth.
Population Ethnicity:
The population in Southeast Asia is not homogeneous at all, and there are a lot of mixtures of different races, not just from within Southeast Asia, but also from other parts of Asia - especially China. There are further overlays of Arab, Polynesian, Melanesian and Indian genes.
The largest ethnic group is Javanese, with 86 million people. Other ethnic groups are:
Australia and New Zealand are extremely multicultural societies, and in it the ethnic breakdown is as follows:
The Pacific Islands consist mainly of natives that have inhabited that region for many years. The ethnic groups of this region are:
A few Major Cities
by
Ashley Kim and Jae Lee
Blog: http://worldgeoakjl.blogspot.com